Yesterday, the search committee voted 5-2 to recommend him. He’ll start later this month.
Three committee members had declared Douglas “not viable” – University Press editor Karla Bowsher, journalism professor Bob Bailyn, and FAU’s assistant media relations director Lisa Freed.
Supporting Douglas were the student body president, the student managers of the campus TV and radio station, and an unaffiliated student who was appointed to the committee.
Professor Bailyn at first suggested dipping back into the candidate pool – because the other two finalists had withdrawn – but he changed his vote when it became clear he wouldn't prevail.
Lisa Freed, however, didn't budge...
The point of hiring this person is to help all three of the outlets, and I don't think Michael Douglas would benefit the UP at all. If we don't look into other people, it would be a disservice to everybody.
She and Karla Bowsher were the only dissenters. But more interesting than the committee's vote was its commentary.
JOURNALISM NOT REQUIRED
Among the important reasons for hiring Douglas was this from the radio station manager: "He seemed like the type of person that, if I asked him to go out and get tickets or to bring people to the station, he'd have no problem doing it."
And the TV station manager told Karla that he didn't want to wait because, unlike the UP, he doesn't have a volunteer adviser...
You're in the fortunate position that if we do decide to open this back up to other candidates, you still have advising in the meantime. I don't. I don't have anybody right now. Marti is the interim adviser. I can go to her for certain things but not for other things.
Karla countered half-jokingly, "Maybe we can go back to how they shouldn't have fired these advisers in the first place – and how this isn't 'moving student media forward.' But what's done is done."
Karla said she didn't want to "punish" the broadcast outlets by standing in the way of their choice.
"You couldn't prefer him more and we couldn't prefer him less," she said. So she proposed hiring Douglas only for the broadcast outlets. That was met with silence.
PRIOR REVIEW
"I do recognize that he has a lack of professional print experience," the TV manager said of Douglas. "And I feel like prior review is a bad thing, and it shouldn't have to happen. But at the same time, do I feel like he should purposefully be kept in the dark about stories before they're printed? I don't think that's fair."
Karla had difficulty explaining that those two statements were related: Because Douglas has no print experience – and because he refuses to acknowledge FAU has done anything wrong this summer, including banning her from meeting with me off campus – she doesn't feel comfortable consulting him on controversial stories.
First, Douglas "has nothing to offer," Karla said. Second, she fears Douglas will be "an administration lackey" who will simply report her intentions to Student Affairs.
So the real question is: What happens when Karla refuses to consult with Douglas? He'll be here in a few weeks. Stay tuned.
A FORMALITY
Actually, Douglas isn't officially hired just yet. As the search committee's chairman said, "We’re only making a recommendation to the hiring authority."
That authority is student media director Marti Harvey. But the committee's chairman is Students Affairs Dean Corey King – the boss of Marti's boss. (Marti reports to associate dean Terry Mena, who reports to King.)
I've never seen a search committee chaired by someone two rungs up the chain of command from the person who does the hiring. I can't imagine Marti would reject the recommendation and force her boss's boss to endure even more meetings.
So welcome, Michael Douglas.
TOMORROW: What happens next.
